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ANEL MPs reject party chief's request to withdraw ministers

Lawmakers with the junior party in Greece's coalition government, Independent Greeks (ANEL), on Friday rejected a request by their chief, Panos Kammenos, to seek the withdrawal from cabinet of party officials.

According to initial reports, only two of the party's seven lawmakers in Greece's 300-seat House backed Kammenos's request to apply to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for the removal of ANEL officials from their ministerial posts, effectively dissolving the coalition.

Earlier in the day, Kammenos said that a meeting with Alexis Tsipras scheduled for Friday had been postponed due to developments in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where the debate on the ratification of the contentious name deal with Greece was put on hold on Thursday.

The meeting between Tsipras and Kammenos, who hold opposing views on the name accord, was seen as pivotal in determining the future of the fragile coalition.